Pfingsten Acquires Advanstar Art Group

Posted on March 26, 2004

Pfingsten Publishing, L.L.C. has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the assets of the Advanstar Art Group of Advanstar Communications Inc. The acquisition will combine Pfingsten's properties -- DECOR magazine, four DECOR Expo tradeshows and Art Expressions Magazine -- with Advanstar's Art Business News, Framing Business News, Artexpo New York and ArtMiami into a single business unit. The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. of New York, NY represented Pfingsten Publishing, L.L.C. in this transaction.

Thomas Bagley, Chairman of Pfingsten Publishing, L.L.C.. said, "The combination of our market-leading decorative art and framing group with Advanstar's market-leading fine art group will result in exceptional operating synergies and will allow the combined entity to provide a more comprehensive offering to our advertisers, readers, exhibitors and attendees. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to acquire these assets."

With the addition of the Artexpo and ArtMiami shows, Pfingsten Publishing will now be in a position to offer a continuum of differentiated trade shows that address unique segments of the art market. Combined with its four DECOR Expo shows, Pfingsten Publishing claims it will be the art and framing industry's No. 1 producer of trade shows in the world.

On the publication side, Pfingsten Publishing will add Art Business News and Framing Business News to its existing DECOR magazine to serve these markets with the No. 1 magazines in the three largest industry segments. In Europe, the company will continue to serve the art and framing market through Art Expressions Magazine, an acquisition that was completed in the fall of 2003, and a combined Artexpo/DECOR Expo show in Madrid in January 2005.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Pfingsten Publishing is a business-to-business media company that serves eight market segments through three business groups. The company's Art Framing Group serves the decorative art and fine art markets; the Financial Services Group serves the life and health insurance, property & casualty insurance and mortgage origination markets; and the Industrial Group serves the commercial construction, material handling, and maintenance repair and operations markets. Pfingsten Publishing is owned by Pfingsten Partners, LLC, a private equity firm located in Deerfield, IL. Pfingsten Partners was formed in 1989 to make equity investments in middle-market manufacturing, distribution and specialty publishing companies.